YESHIVA UNIVERSITY

FALL 2014

VOLUME 18 NO. 4YUTODAY

Ice Bucket Challenge Drenches YU

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Two New Exhibitions at YU Museum

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A Career of Caring: Wurzweilers Susan Bendor

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Sy Syms Revamps Curriculum

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Former U.S. Senator Joseph Lieber-man has been appointed the Joseph Lieberman Chair in Public Policy and Public Service at Yeshiva University for the 20142015 academic year. He will teach one undergraduate course and give three public lectures.

The Lieberman Chair was estab-lished through a gift from University benefactors Ira and Ingeborg Rennert, who also gave a gift to support the reap-pointment of Ambassador Danny Ayalon as the Ira and Ingeborg Rennert Visiting Professor of Foreign Policy Studies.

I am very honored that Yeshiva Uni-versity is establishing this chair, deeply grateful that Ira and Ingeborg Rennert are making it possible and personally surprised that YU and the Rennerts have asked me to be the first occupant of the chair, said Lieberman. I am excited about working with the students at YU to engage and inform their interest in public policy and public service.

Lieberman represented Connecticut in the U.S. Senate from 1989 to 2013, after serving in the Connecticut State Senate for 10 years and as attorney general of Connecticut for six years.

Joe Lieberman was the first Jew-ish candidate on a national ticket and has become an iconic figure, said Presi-dent Richard M. Joel. But he is much more than that. Hes a passionate Jew, a statesman and a man of integrity. And to be able to build on who he is and what he represents is critical to the multifaceted dimensionality that must be Yeshiva.

Lieberman was awarded an honor-ary doctorate from YU in 1989 and was recently featured in the Great Conversa-tions in Religion and Democracy series of the Zahava and Moshael Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought. n

One night, as Ethan Gipsmana light machine-gunner in the Is-raeli Defense Force (IDF) from San Diego, Californiastood guard over a group of suspected terrorists in the West Bank, one of them asked him a sur-prising question: What was Ethan, an American, doing there? He said, Why would you leave your country to come here? Gipsman recalled.

Gipsman thought about his answer for most of the night before replying in a mixture of Arabic, English and Hebrew.

He said, There is only one Jewish coun-try in the world. I left America because, as a Jew, I have an obligation to protect it.

His answer resonates strongly with several Lone Soldiersenlistees from the United States and other countries around the world who come to Israel to serve in the IDFwho, like Gipsman, began their studies at Yeshiva University this fall.

For Daniel Gofine, a member of the Givati Brigade from Toronto, Ontario, it made no sense that the Israeli friends

This fall, close to 600 new students began their academic careers at Yeshiva Uni-versity. They are learning to balance a rich and vibrant range of academic, ex-tracurricular and spiritual pursuits, dedicating themselves to rigorous Torah and secular study, discovering their passions, championing their beliefs and forming lasting friendships.

This is a university like no other, President Richard M. Joel told the new stu-dents. Here, you profoundly matter and will not just receive a dual curriculum educa-tion but also learn how to live. He encouraged students to expand their network of peers and take ownership of their experience at YU.

The student body has dreams of pursuing an array of professional careers in med-

icine, the arts, accounting, law, Jewish studies and education, among other fields. Yet they all chose to attend Yeshiva University, the only in-stitution that offers high-level academics and Judaic studies in addition to endless extracurricular opportunities.

This years incoming class is made up of men and women from across the United States, Europe, Canada, Israel and Latin America. Many are starting their first year on campus following a year of Torah study in Israel, but others are beginning their college careers right after graduating high school and still others are joining YU from other universities.

Daniel Amar, of Dimona, Israel, is one of the latter. After two years on an athletic scholarship for soccer at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, he is excited to start his studies in business and marketing at Sy Syms School of Business this falla place he describes as the perfect fit.

To be able to combine my spiritual aspirations with a great edu-cation at one of the top 50 universities in the country is a great oppor-tunity, said Amar, who is also looking forward to building rapport with his teammates on the YU Maccabees soccer team. To be able to study economics on the one hand and talk about Maimonides or Gemara [Tal-

mud] on the other hand is extremely fulfilling to me. I know that in any field I choose, the tools Ill develop from my spiritual and academic pursuits here will help me.

The top-notch academic offerings are only getting stronger: YU is now in full com-pliance with all the standards of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). In its latest report, MSCHE reaffirmed the Universitys unconditional ac-creditation and commended the school for its tremendous progress in advancing the culture of assessment and for implementation of an organized, systematic and sustain-able process to assess the achievement of expected student-learning outcomes.

The most recent survey by YUs Career Center bears testimony to that: More

Joseph Lieberman Joins Faculty IDF Vets Begin Studies at Yeshiva

New Students Find Perfect Fit at YU

Continued on Page 6

Continued on Page 6

Former U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman Having recently completed their IDF service, veterans Shmuel Goldis, Jonathan Sidlow, Daniel Gofine and Ethan Gipsman began their studies at YU this fall

Undergraduate women move into their dorm rooms on the Beren Campus in Manhattan

2 YUTODAY

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The Yeshiva University community mourned the passing of beloved long-time Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Ger-shon Yankelewitz zl at an August 20 funeral held in YUs Glueck Beit Midrash.

Rabbi Yankelewitz by his nature and learning so repre-sented both our history and our destiny, said President Richard M. Joel. For over half a century, he taught his students how to learn and how to live. We will al-ways remember him.

Born in Lubcza, Poland, in 1909, Rabbi Yankelewitz stud-ied in the Radin Yeshiva until the death of its founder, the Chofetz Chaim. He then con-tinued his studies at the Mir Yeshiva in Russia before being forced to flee from the Nazis at the start of World War II. The entire yeshiva relocated to Kobe, Japan, before eventually settling in Shanghai, China, where they remained until 1947. Rabbi Yankelewitz joined YU in 1958 and has given a daily shiur [lecture] at the Rabbi Isaac El-chanan Theological Seminary

(RIETS) for semicha [rabbinic ordination] and college students for more than five decades.

Rabbi Yankelewitz was an extraordinary person, said Rabbi Zevulun Charlop, dean emeritus of RIETS. He was a man of God and a man of prin-ciple, who brought with him the Torah learning from the great European yeshivas. His students were devoted to him and he was dedicated to them.

As someone who was for-tunate enough to be a talmid [student] in his shiur, I saw what type of tzaddik [righteous per-son] he was up close, said Rabbi Chaim Bronstein, senior RIETS administrator. It was a great privilege to have known him all these years.

It is so far beyond impos-sible to capture who the niftar [deceased] was, not just because of the longevity of the niftar or the many worlds that he lived in but simply because of who he was, said Rabbi Menachem Penner, the Max and Marion Grill Dean of RIETS. Its easy to focus today on the arichas

yamim [long life] of the niftar, to say that what was so special about him was that he had such unbelievable arichas yamim and was still teaching at Yeshiva. But the hespedim [eulogies] give us a sense of not just how many years he was blessed to teach but mostly just how he taught and learned.

Rabbi Yankelewitzs wife, Bluma, passed away in 2010. He is survived by his sons, Dovid, Yaakov, Yoel and Moshe, and his daughters, Devorah Fromowitz, Gity Lipsius and Perl Gross, and their spouses and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. n

YUTODAYYESHIVA UNIVERSITY

FALL 2014

VOLUME 18 NO. 4

DR. HENRY KRESSEL Chairman, YU Board of Trustees

RICHARD M. JOEL President

PAUL OESTREICHER Executive Director of Communications and Public Affairs

YUTODAY

MATT YANIV YAFFI SPODEK GISEL PINEYRO Director of Public Relations, Editor Art Director Editor in Chief

Aliza Berenholz, Barbara Birch, Caitlin Geiger, Perel Skier Hecht, Linda Hsia, David Huggins, Tova Ross, Ronit Segal, Adena Stevens

Contributors

yutoday@yu.edu www.yu.edu/cpa

YUToday is published quarterly by the Office of Communications and Public Affairs and is distrib uted free to faculty, staff, students, alumni, donors and friends. It keeps them informed of news from across Yeshiva Universitys undergraduate and graduate divisions and affiliates. The quarterly newsletter covers academic and campus life, faculty and student research, com-munity outreach and philanthropic support. It showcases the Universitys mission of Torah Umadda, the combination of Jewish study and values with secular learning, through stories

about the diverse achievements of the University community.

Yeshiva University 2014 Office of Communications and Public Affairs Furst Hall, Room 401 500 West 185th St. New York, NY 10033-3201 Tel.: 212.960.5285

Stanley I. Raskas, Chair, Board of Overseers, Yeshiva College; Shira Yoshor, Chair, Board of Overseers, Stern College for Women; Steve Uretsky, Chair, Board of Overseers, Sy Syms School of Business; Roger Einiger, Chair, Board of Overseers, Albert Einstein College of Medicine; David Samson, Chair, Board of Overseers, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law; Froma Benerofe, Chair, Board of Overseers, Wurzweiler School of Social Work; Mordecai D. Katz, Chair, Board of Overseers, Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies; Carol Bravmann, Chair, Board of Overseers, Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology; Moshael J. Straus, Chair, Board of Overseers, Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration; Joel M. Schreiber, Chair, Board of Trustees, (affiliate) Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary; Miriam P. Goldberg, Chair, Board of Trustees, YU High Schools; Michael Jesselson and Theodore N. Mirvis, Co-chairs, Board of Directors, (affiliate) Yeshiva University Museum

Board listings as of October 1, 2014

YUTODAY WEB EXCLUSIVES

www.yu.edu/news

Ice Bucket Challenge Drenches YU President Richard M. Joel, students, vice presidents, deans and

faculty took part in the Ice Bucket Challenge this summer. The global

phenomenon has helped raise awareness and more than $100 million

to fight amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a life-threatening neuro-

degenerative disorder. Watch their videos!

k yu.edu/als

View the 2014 orientation photo galleryk yu.edu/orientation14

PHOTO

VIDEO

Making His Mark

Abraham Abe Naymark zl was a self-made mul-timillionaire, but one would never know it. Low key and unpretentious until his passing last January, Naymark was also a shrewd businessman and a tough negotiatortraits that helped him achieve a small fortune in his lifetime. A gener-ous philanthropist, Naymark has helped numerous students and faculty members at Sy Syms School of Business through the establishment of an eponymous scholarship fund and the Visit-ing Faculty and Research Fel-lowship Program. In total, he donated $2.25 million to YU while he was living as well as through gifts given from his es-tate posthumously.

Abe was the type of guy

who wouldnt spend $100 on himself, but would gladly give a $1 million check to charity, said Michael Strauss, associate dean of Sy Syms, who shared a close personal relationship with him. He was a mentor to me, like a father figure, and a real mensch with a truly unique personality.

Naymark was born in Ger-many in 1924 and moved to Israel with his family in 1938. Although he had no formal edu-cation past third grade, Naymark eventually served as the owner of Parsons Properties and ac-cumulated his wealth when he was in his 60s and 70s through the purchase and sale of several buildings.

In 2007, Naymark estab-lished a charitable remainder trust with a $250,000 contri-bution that provided him with a predictable income stream during his lifetime and funded a Naymark Scholarship at Sy Syms upon his passing. He sub-sequently donated an additional $750,000, a pledge made during his lifetime and partially ful-filled by his estate.

He didnt have any chil-dren and always wanted a son, so he donated the money for students with good academic standing who wouldnt have been able to attend due to finan-

cial reasons, said Strauss. Naymark was awarded an

honorary doctorate from Presi-dent Richard M. Joel at YUs commencement ceremony in 2013. He also donated six Marc Chagall window paintings from Israel, which now hang on the third floor of 215 Lexington Av-enue on the Israel Henry Beren Campus.

When Naymark passed away last winter, his estateof which Strauss is a trusteegranted a $1.25 million bequest to YU, a testamentary gift that was received in June and estab-lished the Abraham Naymark Visiting Faculty and Research Fellowship Program at Sy Syms.

Gifts given like this through a trust or estate can allow people to make a big im-pact during their lifetime or after, said Alan Secter, associate dean for institutional advance-ment. Planned gift strategies can help provide for donors needs during their lifetimes and enable them to leave incredible legacies to organizations they care deeply about. By funding these scholarships and programs in his name, Mr. Naymarks gifts will live on after him. n

k Learn more about planned giving at YU at yu.edu/plannedgiving

Abraham Abe Naymark

Rabbi Gershon Yankelewitz

From Radin to RIETS: YU Remembers Rabbi Gershon Yankelewitz

YU Benefactor Donates $2.25 Million, Leaves Lasting Legacy at Sy Syms

YUTODAY 3

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Researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and other in-stitutions have developed a poten-tial antibody therapy for Sudan ebolavirus (SUDV), one of the two most lethal strains of Ebola. A different strain, the Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV), is now devas-tating West Africa. First identified in 1976, SUDV has caused numerous Ebola outbreaks that have killed more than 400 people in total. The findings were re-ported in the American Chemical Soci-etys (ACS) Chemical Biology publication.

As of the end of September, at least 3,000 people had died from the current EBOV outbreak. Two U.S. aid workers infected in that outbreak received an experimental treatment called ZMapp, a combination of three different mono-clonal antibodies that bind to the protein of the virus. The newly described SUDV treatment also uses monoclonal anti-bodies, in this case synthetic antibodies designed to target a key molecule on the surface of SUDV.

While our antibodies show promise for the treatment of SUDV infection, they wouldnt work against the EBOV outbreak now underway in West Africa, said Dr. Jonathan Lai, associate professor of bio-chemistry at Einstein and co-correspond-ing author of the ACS Chemical Biology

paper. Thats because antibodies that kill off one strain, or species, of Ebola havent proven effective against other strains.

In developing their SUDV therapy, the researchers started with specific antibodies made by mice. These antibodies pro-tect the animals against SUDV infection, but if used in humans, could provoke an immune re-sponse that would destroy them. Needing a humanized version of their mouse antibody, the re-searchers realized that its molec-ular structure closely resembled the structure of a commonly used human antibody.

The researchers used that human antibody as a scaffold onto which they placed the Ebola-specific portion of the mouse antibody. They then made variants of the resulting mol-ecule by subtly changing the structure in different ways using a process called synthetic antibody engineering. Two of these variants proved able to fend off SUDV in specially bred mice.

These two monoclonal antibodies represent potential candidates for treat-ing SUDV infection, said Dr. Lai. He

noted that more research is needed be-fore the antibody therapy can be tested on humans.

The study was funded by grants from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. n

Sy Syms Revamps Curriculum

Yeshiva Universitys Sy Syms School of Business launched a new cur-riculum and a new major in busi-ness intelligence and marketing analytics this fall.

Incorporating state-of-the-art tech-nique in modern business education phi-losophy, the new curriculum is designed to grant students the flexibility to create a unique customized educational expe-rience perfectly tailored to suit their ca-reer interests. Theres a recognition now that we are all entrepreneurs of our own careers, said Dr. Moses Pava, dean of Sy Syms. We believe that this new and ex-citing curriculum, with its continued em-phasis on communication skills, critical thinking, functional skills, entrepreneur-ial leadership, professionalism, social re-sponsibility and ethics will be attractive to both current and prospective students and will provide them with the education

necessary to succeed both professionally and personally in todays fast-changing, interconnected global economy.

Students can focus intensely on one functional area if they so wish or ground themselves in fields across the breadth of the business world, said Dr. Avi Giloni, associate dean of Sy Syms. They could also easily have a major and minoran area of expertise and an additional focusand if they really want to differentiate themselves, it becomes much easier to double major. Were giving them the tools to shape their education and sculpt their own careers.

Changes include making two exist-ing operations management and macro-economics requirements interchangeable with any two liberal arts or business elec-tives in addition to fewer required courses and more electives in most majors.

Reflecting one of the fastest-grow-

ing career paths in the modern business world, the school is also rolling out a newly designed management concentra-tion and a new major in business intel-ligence and marketing analytics. These will combine course work in computer programming, statistics and data science, with a solid foundation in marketing strategy and consumer insights.

This will make our students very marketable when they graduate be-cause they will have the skill set that so many firms are looking for, said Giloni. Theyll be able to better market a firms current services and goods and help them determine what products to create next.

The benefits of these changes in-clude providing students with more flexibility and better choices, said Pava. This meets the needs of a diverse stu-dent population and enables more effi-cient course scheduling, more relevant concentrations for todays data-driven and entrepreneurial business environ-ment and greater opportunity to inte-grate liberal arts and business.

Several new courses were offered in the fall, including Business Analytics and Programming, Systematic and Inven-tive Thinking, Social Media and Business Intelligence and Consumer Insights. In addition, all Sy Syms students are now required to take Business and Halacha, a course that provides an overview of Jewish ethics as applied to the business world. Thats the reason we have a busi-ness school at Yeshiva University, said Pava. Im very proud that all our students learn the urgency of ethical conduct as Jews in the business world. n

Einsteins Dr. Jonathan Lai

Yeshiva University will introduce a new Master of Science degree program in Speech-Language Pa-thology (SLP) in fall 2015. Students will have the opportunity to learn from the experienced clinicians and faculty of the Montefiore Health System and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and will have access to resources at both institu-tions. The program is approved by the State of New York Department of Higher Education and is seeking Accreditation Candidacy with the Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA) of the American Speech, Language and Hearing Associa-tion (ASHA). The official opening date is pending CAA accreditation.

The five-semester graduate pro-gram is designed to prepare students to become speech-language pathologists who are capable of working in hospitals, rehabilitative centers, university or col-lege clinics, specialized clinical settings or private practice. The program was developed by Dr. Linda Carroll, a speech pathologist in the Department of Otolar-yngology at Montefiore Medical Center, who will serve as director. Dr. Carroll is also an experienced voice therapist and was recently named a Fellow of ASHA.

The program is dedicated to pro-viding a first-rate academic experience, outstanding clinical education opportu-nities and collaborative management of disorders across the life span that affect speech, language, cognition, voice and swallow function.

YUs tradition of scholarship and professional excellence coupled with the clinical and research experience at Mon-tefiore and Einstein is a perfect match for a dynamic graduate program in speech-language pathology, said Dr. Carroll. We are thrilled that our institutions are coming together for the benefit of our students and those affected by communi-cative disorders.

Integrating academic training and collaborative teaching by speech-lan-guage and medical professionals, the program offers students the unique op-portunity to learn and gain clinical ex-perience in the world-class facilities of the Montefiore Medical Center, as well as at numerous other externship sites throughout New York City.

This is a natural marriage between the undergraduate speech pathology and audiology program, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore, said Dr. Joseph Danto, professor and cross-campus chair of the undergraduate speech and hearing sciences program at YU. Its rare for graduate programs in Speech-Language Pathology to be con-nected to a medical institution. Our stu-dents will be able to employ hands-on, state-of-the-art learning in virtual oper-ating rooms, major voice clinics and med-ical school anatomical laboratories. n

k To learn more about the program or to apply, visit yu.edu/slp

YU to Launch Masters Program in SpeechPathology

Einstein Researchers Create Potential Antibody for Ebola

Sy Syms Associate Dean Dr. Avi Giloni is helping students shape their majors

4 YUTODAY

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A Career of Caring: Wurzweilers Dr. Susan Bendor

Over half a century after she began her career as a social worker, Dr. Susan Bendor will retire in Janu-ary, capping off 26 years at Yeshiva Uni-versitys Wurzweiler School of Social Work and a remarkable 52 years in the field.

Born in Budapest, Hungary, Bendor survived the Holocaust as a young child by hiding in a cellar for nine months. By the time she was 21, she had lived in six

countries, and by 25, she had earned her masters degree. Her interest in social work can be traced back to her familys early years in Canada.

Thanks to a wonderful hospital so-cial worker who helped our immigrant family through a very rough crisis, giving all of us a sense of hope, I realized how im-portant and satisfying it must be to make such a difference in the lives of families coping with a variety of challenges beyond their control, said Bendor. I decided to follow in his footsteps. It was a privilege to enter a profession that is committed to social justice and to treating everyone with dignity, as were the individuals who saved our lives during World War II and continue to inspire me even today.

Bendor has served in numerous pro-fessional capacities in her storied career. From being a foster care worker at the Jewish Child Care Association, a consul-tant to the Federal Office of Economic Opportunity, a Head Start consultant, a psychiatric social worker in various hos-pitals and health settings, director of so-cial work at Molloy College and associate director of the Department of Social Ser-vices at Montefiore Medical Center, she

held a wide range of responsibilities and experienced multiple facets of the social work field before joining YU in the 1980s.

I thought it was time for me to stim-ulate another generation of young stu-dents to appreciate the leadership positions social workers can take on if they have a broader vision of the profes-sion, she said, explaining her decision to come to YU. I chose YU because it was one of the few schools that taught all of the major methods in social work, case-work, group work and community work, which I thought all students should be-come familiar with.

Bendor held several positions at Wurzweiler, starting out as the director of Field Instruction, where she enjoyed the challenge of helping students expand their areas of interest and go beyond their comfort zones by working with different populations. In 1995, at the urging of then Dean Sheldon Gelman and Dr. Norman Linzer, Bendor assumed a full-time teach-ing position, where she continued for the next 19 years, enlightening hundreds of students who attended her classes.

My philosophy of teaching is best conveyed in a quotation frequently at-

tributed to the Irish poet William Butler Yeats, who wrote: Education is not the fill-ing of a pail, but the lighting of a fire, she said. In whatever course I teach, I love to light the fire for the quest for good practice, compassion, a passion for justice and for putting on a new lens to examine the myths and stereotypes both students and faculty acquire over a lifetime.

That fiery passion has made a last-ing impression on her students and col-leagues alike at Wurzweiler.

I have known Susan Bendor for al-most my entire professional career, said Dr. Carmen Ortiz Hendricks, the Dorothy and David Schachne Dean of Wurzweiler. I admired her from afar as a director of field work, a teacher, a leader in the social work profession and as a passionate ad-vocate for all people especially the most vulnerable members of our society. Dr. Bendor is the conscience of Wurzweiler, frequently reminding us to attend rallies, write letters to our elected officials and to vote each year. Her classes are always full and countless numbers of students have been inspired by her dedication, deter-mination and active involvement in many causes to follow in her footsteps. n

Recent Appointments

Liora Haibi, Hebrew language instructor at Yeshiva University High School for Boys/Marsha Stern Talmu-dical Academy (MTA) was named one of only six North American winners of the Grinspoon Award for Excel-lence in Jewish Education.

Presented by the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, the award is designed to recognize, honor and support outstanding classroom Jewish educators worthy of national recognition. North American winners receive a stipend, opportunities to publish in Engaging Practices in Jewish Education and fully funded visits to attend the NewCAJE conference in Los Angeles, California.

Besides being a great personal honor, the Grinspoon Award is a confirmation of the importance of Hebrew language instruction for the American Jewish community, said Haibi. My lifelong quest in my profession is to find innovative and 21st-century ways to motivate and improve Hebrew language instruction.

Haibi was also recognized as a regional winner of the award and has implemented several unique Hebrew language instruction programs at MTA, including an Ulpan class and an innovative Meet the Israeli Author elective in which students regularly communicate via Skype with a noted Israeli writer whose works they study.

Ms. Haibi has transformed the Hebrew language classroom at MTA, said Tova Rosenberg, director of Hebrew language at MTA. Her creativity, breadth and depth of knowledge in her subject matter and pedagogical skills and her passion for students and their learning make her a gold standard for Jewish educators.

MTA Instructor Wins Grinspoon Award in Jewish Education

Jacob Jake Harman was appointed vice president of business affairs and chief financial officer. He will lead the Universitys finance functions and play an integral role in developing and imple-menting financial and operational plans to support and meet the strategic goals set by the University. Prior to joining YU, Harman spent his career at KPMG, where he most recently served as a se-nior audit partner in the firms Office of General Counsel.

Geri Mansdorf has been appointed di-rector of undergraduate admissions. Mansdorf, who holds a masters degree in education from the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Admin-istration, has been a member of the un-dergraduate admissions team at YU for 10 years.

Dr. Paul Oestreicher was appointed executive director of Yeshiva Universitys De-partment of Communications and Public Affairs. He will oversee the in-house com-munications staff, manage the Universitys brand and messaging and liaise with the communications teams at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Oestreicher, an accomplished strategic communications practi-tioner, educator, researcher and author, has held senior executive positions in public relations and public affairs at several corporations and agencies. Most recently, he con-sulted in corporate and marketing communications and served as adjunct professor at New York University.

Rabbi Yaakov Glasser 99YC, 01R, 03A was appointed the David Mitzner Dean of Yeshiva Universitys Center for the Jewish Future (CJF). He will oversee all the per-sonnel and programming initiatives at the CJF, including training rabbis and lay lead-ers, spreading Torah to communities worldwide and running programs and service missions across North America and beyond.

It is a great privilege to assume the leadership of an institution dedicated to bring-ing the Torah and wisdom of Yeshiva University to the broader Jewish community, said Rabbi Glasser. In a generation where so many are searching for inspiration and meaning, the CJF innovates programs that empower both rabbinic and lay leaders to reach our community and beyond.

Rabbi Glasser also serves as rabbi of the Young Israel of Passaic-Clifton. Before joining YU, he was the international director of education for NCSY and regional direc-tor of New Jersey NCSY.

Dr. Susan Bendor will retire in January

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When a calamity hits the Jewish community, one of the first respond-ers is Zahava (Safran) Farbman 90YUHS, 94S, 96W. A veteran traumatologist and the associate director of Project CHAIthe Crisis Intervention, Trauma and Bereavement Department of Chai LifelineFarbman has helped counsel and comfort hundreds of people experiencing tragedy. Its a calling, she said, that has roots in Yeshiva University.

Growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Safran home was run with a strict all are welcome policy.

Helping people was a very natural part of my upbringing, said Farbman, whose family moved to Teaneck, New Jersey, when she started high school.

My father was the rabbi of the shul and principal of the day school. My mother started the initiative Friends of Jewish Patients, which welcomes the numer-ous people who come to Pittsburgh for surgery, as Pittsburgh pioneered the procedure of transplanting organs. I had patients and their families living in my house for months on end, and I imbibed a lot of my parents dedication to the community early on.

When it came time for college, Farbman said the decision to attend Stern College for Women was a no-brainer.

I come from a YU family through and through, said Farbman. Her father, a Yeshiva College graduate, was the principal of the Samuel H. Wang Yeshiva University High School for Girls; her paternal grandfather, Rabbi Joseph Safran, taught at YU; and her maternal grandfather, Rabbi Jacob Rabinowitz, was a dean of the Erna Michael College of Hebraic Studies. Her mother also taught a class at Stern. YU is in the family blood, she said.

At Stern, Farbman majored in psychology. She dated her husband, Seth Farbman 89YUHS, 93YC, 98C while they were undergraduates, and the two got married a semester before Farbmans graduation. They moved to Brook-lyn, New York, and Farbman enrolled at Wurzweiler School of Social Work.

I had initially planned on studying psychology, but Seth was already in law school and someone needed to be working, said Farbman. I discovered Wurzweilers PEP [Plan for Employed Persons], which allowed professionals to work during the day and take classes at night. Social work was a switch for me, but I found that I loved it and never looked back.

Farbman was working with families through OHELs Bais Ezra pro-gram in Brooklyn, which services the developmentally disabled, and stayed there for a few years after graduating Wurzweiler. In the summer of 1997, she worked as the program director for Camp Simcha, a camp for children with cancer and other serious illnesses. When the fall arrived and Farbman

decided to leave Bais Ezra, the first place she turned to was Chai Lifeline. As luck would have it, Rabbi Simcha Scholar, the director, was looking for some-one to fill the newly created position of assistant director of Camp Simcha. Farbman was a natural fit.

At the time, my job was the only full-time position at camp, said Farb-man. I did a lot of networking with families and recruiting campers during the year in addition to helping run the camp during the summer.

The job only grew more time consuming as the camp kept growing. I was at camp almost a decade, but when camp got so big, it was either the job or my kids, said Farbman, who had three small children at the time, and my kids won.

But she still wanted to find a way to contribute. When Chai Lifeline announced in 2002 that it was establishing a department for crisis inter-vention and bereavement counseling, it proved the perfect transition for Farbman. Rabbi Scholar saw a real need for a department devoted to coun-seling families in the Jewish community who experienced the loss of a child whether from sickness or accident, said Farbman.

What started as a part-time job has once again grown to involve more hours than Farbman had originally planned. The department grew by leaps and bounds, developing a reputation as the most professional and all-encom-passing resource for those experiencing a tragic loss. When Leiby Kletzky was murdered in Boro Park, New York, Farbman and Chai Lifeline were there. When Hurricane Sandy hit, they were there. And when the recent shootings occurred at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City, they were there.

There is really no crisis or trauma in the Jewish community today that my department is not involved inwhether its a family experiencing a sick child, a sudden death or a natural disaster, said Farbman. We are known as the go-to resource in the community whenever there is any kind of crisis.

To deal with such devastation day in and day out, its easy for others to wonder how she does it.

I believe that each person has his or her strengths, and one of mine is to be able to give strength to others during very difficult times, said Farbman. I feel strongly that I am doing Gods work, and I pray often to be a good shaliach (messenger) for Him when I am called on to do my job. I feel both called and blessed to do this kind of work, and before walking into any situation, I always take a moment to pray for wisdom and strength.

And no matter how public or private or how big the scale or scope, every tragedy is monumental to those experiencing it, and to Farbman as well. They all stay with me, said Farbman. I see it all, and each one touches me deeply.

Farbmans department regularly runs presentations and workshops to train others in the community to become first responders to the scene of a crisis. When advising others on how to respond to tragedy, the best advice Farbman can give is this: validate.

When faced with someones suffering, its so important to validate how-ever that person or family is responding and coping with their situation, said Farbman. Theres no right or wrong way to grieve, no one-size-fits-all way to cope with crisis.

Farbmans unique role has her keeping unorthodox hours; she is often woken up in the middle of the night with a phone call informing her of a sud-den crisis. Farbman credits her husband, Seth, for accomodating her hectic schedule and offering her unlimited emotional support for her challenging work. She also acknowledges her seven children, ranging from ages four to 18, who are proud of their mothers ability to help so many. I think of my 10- year-old who last year told a friend: Ima helps people deal when some-thing bad happens to someone they love, she said. My kids know how important my work is, and Im grateful to them for letting me do it.

Farbman, who lives in Woodmere, New York, is a responder for men-tal health emergencies for Hatzolah of the Five Towns and Far Rockaway and is also the consultant for crisis and bereavement for Achiezer, A T.I.M.E. (A Torah Infertility Medium of Exchange) and Ohr Naava.

Recently, Farbman returned to YU to attend Wurzweiler againthis time, for her PhD. It feels odd yet familiar to be back at school, but of course there was nowhere else for me to consider than YU, she said. She noted that it was exactly 18 yearsthe numerical value of the Hebrew word chai, or lifefrom the day she graduated with her masters degree to the day she interviewed for the doctoral program. Farbman is also working to create a partnership between her department at Chai Lifeline and YU to offer a ser-vice that trains YU rabbis, communal leaders and lay leaders to respond to trauma in their respective communities. n

Zahava Farbman 90YUHS, 94S, 96W

ALUMNITODAYYESHIVA UNIVERSITYFALL 2014When Crisis Strikes, Zahava Farbman is on Call

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Marcia 66S and Rabbi Yitzchak Frank 61YC, 65F, 65R announce the birth of their grandson. Mazal tov to parents Lea and Uriel Frank. Rabbi and Mrs. Frank also celebrated the Bat Mitzvah of their granddaughter, Naomi.

Frieda and former YU Institutional Advancement President Rabbi Dr. Henry Horwitz 66YC, 69R, 69BR and Netty and Elliot Horowitz and Steven Gross celebrated the Bar Mitzvah of their grandson, Yonatan Refael Catriel. Mazal tov to parents Ayala and Yossie Horwitz.

Rabbi Dr. Bernhard Rosenberg 69YC, 74R, 74F, 92A published The Holocaust As Seen Through Film: A Teachers Guide To Movies, Documentaries, And Short Films

That Will Impact Your Students And Spark Dynamic Classroom Discussion (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014).

Libby 55YUHS and Rabbi Aharon Ziegler 67F celebrated the Bar Mitzvah of their great-grandson, Mordechai Drillick.

1970s

Dr. Meryl Altabet 76BS, 84BS and Robert Fried celebrated the marriage of their son, Rabbi David Fried, to Molly Katancik.

Sharon 72S and Rabbi Shimon Altshul 72YC, 76R, 76F announce the marriage of their daughter, Esty, to Hillel Garcia Austria.

Dr. Allan S. Kaplan 70YUHS, 74YC was named vice dean of graduate education on the faculty of medicine at the University of Toronto. He is also professor of psychiatry

and senior scientist at the Center for Addiction and Mental Health.

Abraham J. Katz 75YC edited and annotated the new edition of the book, The Guide to Jewish Prayer by Rabbi Isaiah Wohlgemuth zl, which includes lessons in Tefila and answers to

questions that Rabbi Wohlgemuth heard from Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik zl.

Nava Rephun 76W presented a training workshop on Image Relationship Therapy, an approach to working with couples, to the clinical staff of the Jewish Board of Family and Childrens Services in Brooklyn, New York.

Yehudit 75TI and Dr. Moshe Spero announce the birth of their grandson. Mazal tov to parents Jennie and Chezi Spero.

Esther (Gleicher) 75YUHS and Rabbi Mark Weiner 76YC, 79F, 80R announce the engagement of their son, Aryeh, to Rivkah Leah Kunin. Rabbi Weiner has also retired from U.S. Army Reserve chaplaincy as a lieutenant colonel.

1980s Amy and Rabbi Mitchell Ackerson 86R, 89W, announce the marriage of their son, Avidan, to Sara Baumgarten.

Adena Berkowitz 85C was a featured speaker at a conference at DePaul University College of Law, as well as at St. Thomas University School of Law and the Chicago Jewish Federation.

Cheryl (Rochwarger) 84S and Yechiel Corn 80YUHS, 83YC announce the engagement of their son, Tzvi, to Adi Chazan. Mazal tov to grandmother Dr. Juliana Corn 83F.

Tamar 88S, 89A and Marc Lesnick 88YC celebrated the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Amichai.

Natanya 86S and Rabbi Daniel Mann 86YC, 89R announce the birth of their grandson, Avraham Tropp.

Rabbi Francis Nataf 87BR, 88R spoke at Congregation Ramath Orah in June on No Man is for All SeasonsThe Real Reason Moshe Couldnt Cross the Jordan.

Aviva 82S and Joe Offenbacher 76YUHS, 79YC and Robin and Bruce Epstein announce the birth of their grandson, Michael Baruch Tzvi, born to Esther and Rafi Offenbacher. Mazal tov to great-grandparents Judith 57YUHS, 61S and Rabbi Irwin Borvick 53YUHS, 57YC, 60BR, 60R and Esther and Elmer Offenbacher.

Dr. Esther 86S, 95F and Rabbi Meir Orlian 83YUHS, 87YC, 90R, 93BR announce the birth of their granddaughter, Tzophia, born to Sara and Avrahami Rosenberg of Bet-El. Mazal tov to great-grandparents Associate Dean of Stern College for Women Ethel (Chaya) Orlian 57 YUHS, 61S and Professor of Bible and Hebrew Rabbi Dr. J. Mitchell Orlian 51YUHS, 55YC, 57F, 73BR and Dr. Riki and Dr. Mordecai Koenigsberg 59YC, 63A.

Diane Romirowsky 81W is major gifts director for the Northeast region for American Associates of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, serving greater New York and New England.

Smadar, assistant professor of Bible, and Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Michael Rosensweig 80YC, 80R, 86W, 96BR announce the marriage of their daughter, Ayalah, to Chanan Freilich 14YC. Mazal tov to grandfather, Rabbi Beryl Rosensweig 47YC, 50R, 70BR.

Alisa and Rabbi Allen Schwartz 85YC, 86R, 97BR announce the birth of two grandchildren: Sarah, born to Amy 02YUHS and Rabbi Joel Bloom 05YC, 09A, 10R; and Tehilla Chaya Sarah, born to Renee (Kestenbaum) 12S and Moshe Schwartz 06YUHS.

Deborah 84S, 86W and Rabbi Raphael Schwartz 83BR, 83R celebrated the marriage of their son, Maurice, to Dina Honick.

Berni and Rabbi Lawrence Zierler 82YC, 85R announce the marriage of their daughter, Dorona, to Gadi Braude.

1990s Rabbi Hayyim Angel 93YC, 93BR, 95R, 96A, instructor of Bible at Yeshiva University, is the National Scholar of the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals and Rabbinic Scholar at Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun.

Shoshana (Levitz) 91S and Steven Arnold 91SB celebrated the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Binyamin. Mazal tov to grandparents Shirley (Roy) Lerner 64S, 66F and Ruth and Phil Levitz 60YUHS.

Rochelle and Rabbi David Blum 95YC, 01R announce the birth of their daughter, Sheindel Chaya, named after Rabbi Blums late mother, Sheila Blum zl.

Rabbi Aaron Goldscheider 94R published a haggadah, The Night That Unites Passover Haggadah: Teaching, Stories, Questions from Rabbi Kook, Rabbi

Soloveichik, and Rabbi Carlebach (Urim Publications, 2014).

Adeena 90S and Rabbi Menachem Penner 91YC, 95R, the Max and Marion Grill Dean of RIETS, announce the marriage of their daughter, Elisheva, to Ben Langstein.

Dr. Dale Rosenbach 99YUHS, 03YC has been appointed to both the editorial advisory and continuing education advisory boards for Dentaltown Magazine.

Daniella (Shloush) 94S, 96A and Rabbi Joshua Rudoff 84YUHS, 87YC, 91R celebrated the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Shmuel.

Rabbi Kenny Schiowitz 96SB, 99R, 01A published new edu-cational guides for Talmud instructors called Madrikh La-Moreh (OU Press, 2014), currently available for Tractates

Berakhot, Sanhedrin and Sukkah.

Rabbi Dr. Eliezer Schnall 95YUHS, 00YC, 02F, 03R, 06F, professor of psychology at Yeshiva College, chaired a symposium at the 122nd Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association in

Washington DC, entitled Classic Jewish Wisdom for Psychologys Teachers, Researcher, and Clinicians. Rabbi Schnall also authored Barriers to Mental Health Care: A 25-Year Follow-Up Study of the Orthodox Jewish Community, published in the Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, as well as a monograph published by the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, entitled Positive Psychology in Jewish Education on integrating positive psychology into Jewish day school curricula.

Rabbi Moshe Strauch 92YC married Devora Widman 01S.

YOUR NEWS IS OUR NEWS! Class Notes is where Yeshiva University celebrates the milestones and accomplishments of its alumni. In this section, you can catch up on everything your classmates have been up to over the years, from marriages and births to professional and personal achievements.

Submit your class note by emailing alumni@yu.edu with the subject line Class Notes or by visiting www.yu.edu/alumni/notes to complete the online form. We hope that you enjoy reading about your fellow alumni and friends, and we look forward to hearing about your achievements.

1950s

Dr. Seymour Hoffman 52YUHS, 56YC, 58F edited Reader for the Orthodox Jewish Psychotherapist: Issues, Case Studies, and Contemporary Responsa (Golden Sky Books, 2014).

Chair of the YU Board of Trustees Dr. Henry Kressel 55YC married Rina Uziel.

Elke 59YUHS and Nachman Kupietzky 55YUHS, 59YC and Dr. Judi 63YUHS and Rabbi Harris Guedalia, Hilda Cohen and Dr. Henry Goldblum announce the engagement of their grandson, Chanan Kupietzky to Sophie Taub. Mazal Tov to parents Allison and Dr. Ari Kupietzky, Zehava and Ambassador Daniel Taub and to great-grandmother, Els Bendheim.

1960s

Rabbi Abba Engelberg 65YC, 68R published The Ethics of Genesis (Kodesh Press, 2014).

Dr. Howard R. Feldman 62YUHS published Invertebrate Paleontology (Mesozoic) of Israel and Adjacent Countries with Emphasis on the Brachiopoda (Academic Studies Press, 2013).

CLASSNOTES

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Shafrira 90YUHS, 93S and Ben Wiener 88YUHS, 92YC, 97R and Orit 95A and Jan Wimpfheimer 86YUHS, 89YC celebrated the marriage of their children Aliza and Yair. Mazal tov to grandparents Debby (Bendheim) 67YUHS and Barry Eisenberg 64YUHS, 68YC, 72BR, 72R, Malka and Moshe Schwartz, Abby 64YUHS and Alan Wiener 64YUHS, and Susanne and Michael Wimpfheimer 61YUHS and to the great-grandparents, Els Bendheim, Chaim Cohen, Eleanor Fletcher and Shirley Levy.

Shoshana 98YUHS, 02S and Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz 09BR announce the birth of their son, Meir Lev Kook. Mazal tov to grandparents Helene and Rabbi Kenneth Stein 67YUHS, 71YC, 75R, 76BR.

2000s

Yael 07S and Rabbi Michael Bleicher 14W have been installed as the rebbetzin and rabbi of the Elmora Hills Minyan in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

Adam Caplan 07SB married Melissa Sheps. Mazal tov to parents, Lori (Bitterman) 82S and Jonathan Caplan 81YC.

Shira 03S and Rabbi Avi Heller 02R, 02BR celebrated the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Nadav.

Dr. Cesar Garces 02W pubished Social Work in the Hospital Setting: Interventions (Trafford, 2013) in English and Spanish.

Rachel (Itzkowitz) 05YUHS and Bryan Salamon 13W announce the birth of their son, Ethan Bernard Salamon.

Aviva 00S and Rabbi Robert Shur 01YC, 05R announce the birth of their son, Ariel Moshe.

Atara (Tambor) 07YUHS and Nachum Joel 05YUHS, 11YC announce the birth of their son, Aiden Alexander. Mazal tov

to grandparents, Dr. Esther 83F and President Richard M. Joel 68YUHS.

Sherry and Rabbi Moshe Winograd 08YC, 11R announce the birth of their son, Akiva Shlomo.

2010s Meira 13W and Rabbi Gershon Albert 12SB announce the birth of their daughter, Sarah Hodaya. Mazal tov to grandparents Miriam 90S and Rabbi Perry Tirschwell 85YC, 89R.

Michael Brandwein 10YC was noted in the Times of Israel for his research on ways to prevent slime on foods by genetically blocking bacterial biofilm.

Yaira Dubin 10S was hired to be a 2015 Supreme Court clerk for Justice Elana Kagan.

Shoshana 10S, 12A and Rabbi Avraham Engelson 07SB announce the birth of their son, Yehuda Aryeh. Mazal tov to grandparents, Brenda and Rabbi Darren Blackstein 78R, 83YC.

Shmuel Lamm 10YUHS married Sara Lamar 14S. Mazal tov to parents Tina 83S and Yeshiva College Board member Shalom Lamm 81YC and Heidi and Steve Lamar; and to grandparents Mindy and

YU Board of Trustee Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm 49YC, 51R, 66BR.

Adam Neuman 13YC announced his engagement to Tammie Senders 13S. Mazal tov to parents Debra and Dr. Shelly Senders 78YC, 79BR, 83A

and Barbara and Craig Neuman and to grandparents Audrey 54YUHS, 58S and Rabbi Haskel Lookstein 58R, 65BR, 79BR and Mike Senders 42YUHS, 46YC.

Shifra and Tzvi Pfeffer 11SB announce the birth of their son, Avraham Yisrael Gedalia. Mazal tov to grandparents Rivkie and Rabbi Moshe Rosenbaum and great grandparents Judy 58YUHS, 62S and Rabbi Yitzchak Rosenbaum 60YC, 62R, 63BR.

Elliot Shavalian 14YC was appointed assistant director of undergraduate admissions at Yeshiva University.

In Memoriam Rabbi Sidney Berger 51YUHS, 55R, 55YCDr. Sam Hartstein 43YCRyan Avraham Khaldar 12SBRabbi Saul Klausner 53YCDr. David J. Lando 64YCDr. Moshe Lieberman 57YCMiriam Rosner Nusbacher 56YUHS, 60SMartin Schnall 51YUHS, 55YCRosh Yeshiva Rabbi Gershon YankelewitzRabbi Dr. Abraham N. Zuroff 41YC, 44R, 66BR

Legend for school abbreviations:

A: Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration BR: Bernard Revel Graduate School BS: Belfer Graduate School of Science BZ: Philip and Sarah Belz School of Jewish Music C: Cardozo School of Law E : Albert Einstein College of Medicine F: Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology R: Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary S: Stern College for Women SB: Sy Syms School of Business TI: Teachers Institute W: Wurzweiler School of Social Work YC: Yeshiva College YUHS: Yeshiva University High Schools

RECORD NUMBER OF ALUMNI GIVE BACK TO YU

Thanks to the dedication and hakarat hatov [expression of gratitude] of alumni like Elana Betaharon and Danny Goldberg, 2013-2014 was a banner year for giving, with a record number of 3,267 undergraduate alumni supporting the University. We are most appreciative of the commitment and generosity of the alumni community. Your partnership ensures a strong future for Yeshiva.

I had an incredible time at Yeshiva University. It was such a warm and inviting environment that pushed me to keep growing, both as a Jew and as a professional, while supplying me with the

tools to achieve that growth and success. I support YU because

they invested in me as much as I invested in myself. Giving back

gives me an opportunity to say thank you for everything that made

me who I am today and to keep being part of the YU family. It is

truly Nowhere But Here. Danny Goldberg 12SB

I wanted to give back to the university that helped me shape who I am today.

Ive taken classes, learned

Torah, met people and seen

and experienced things at

Stern College for Women

that I wouldnt have been

able to do anywhere else. Elana Betaharon 14S

DOWNLOAD THE YU ALUMNI SMARTPHONE APP AT WWW.YU.EDU/ALUMNI/APP 4 ALUMNITODAY

Breaking Barriers in Technology

ALEX LUXENBERG 11YC: THE ACCOUNT MANAGER

Before July 2006, the concept of tweeting was for the birdsliterally. But when Twitter, the online social networking service, was founded and quickly grew in worldwide popularity, a tweet was no longer a mere chirp of a bird but a 140-char-acter message that people could broadcast to the world. Along with Facebook, Twitter changed the face of social media as we know it. For Alex Luxenberg 11YC, an account manager at Twitter, the road to a hip job at one of the most prestigious tech companies in the world was first paved at Yeshiva University.

Growing up in Manhattan and attending the Ramaz School, Luxenberg was drawn to YU because of its New York City locale, strong Jewish community and intensive Judaic stud-ies offerings. As a student in the Yeshiva Pro-gram/Mazer School of Talmudic Studies and an English major, Luxenbergs two favorite courses were in biblical studies and writing.

I took as many writing courses as possi-ble because they helped me become more articulate, he said. I particularly liked the writing courses with Professor Johanna Lane, who always took the time to give us individu-alized attention and feedback.

Luxenberg was also a regular contribu-tor to several undergraduate student publica-tions, including The Commentator and Kol Hamevaser. He enjoyed taking biblical stud-ies courses with Dr. Aaron Koller, assistant dean of Yeshiva College and associate profes-sor of Bible, his favorite professor.

Dr. Kollers classes were always provoca-tive and challenging, said Luxenberg. He

also always stands up for what he believes in, which has been a great lesson for me in my career. He taught me to be critical and always ask questions, even if those questions are taboo or unsolicited.

Luxenberg worked at a hedge fund during the summer and on Fridays dur-ing the school year. From that experience, he learned that he enjoyed being in a role where he regularly interfaced with clients.

After graduating from YU, Luxenberg was hired to a rotational training pro-gram at an e-commerce startup called vente-privee USA, an online flash sale com-pany and a joint venture between American Express and vente-privee Europe, as one of the companys first 15 employees.

The program was designed to enable my colleagues and me to learn about different aspects of the business by rotating through the different departments, like business development and marketing, said Luxenberg. One of the unique aspects of this training program was that you also spent half the day doing cus-tomer service, an amazing experience that taught me a lot about how customer service representatives get treated. It also showed me how important it is to be patient with clients who are unhappy or frustrated and how to work to resolve their problems efficiently.

After the training ended, Luxenberg landed a job on the finance team as the manager of financial planning and analysis. The position allowed me to work with the executive team and consisted of a lot of cross-functional work that required me to learn about every aspect of our business in a collaborative environment, he said.

After two years at vente-privee USA, Luxenberg learned of an account man-ager position on the sales team at Twitter, and he jumped at the opportunity.

The prospect of working for a company thats changing the way that people com-municate was incredibly exciting and reminded me of what I loved about my writing courses, he said. When you learn how to write, you learn to consider who your audience is, and with Twitter, the entire world is your audience. Whats better than that?

At Twitter, he works with advertisers to allow them to use the company to grow their businesses.

Twitter is an incredible place to work, and not just for the obvious reasonslike that its a really famous brand, or that its constantly changing so were always learning and being challenged on the jobbut also because it cares about people, said Luxenberg. But Im perhaps most proud of the way that Twitter gives people who dont typically have a voice a way to amplify their message.

He continued, Theres a real culture of people striving to do their best work here, and everyone is team-oriented. Its great to be a part of that.

Cool professional perks include mingling with guests like Hillary Clinton and Tom Hanks, who have visited the office for question-and-answer sessions with employees, in-office video games, a yoga studio for breaks during the day, and free lunch and beer, for those over 21.

Luxenberg lives in Forest Hills, New York, with his wife, Allie. He tweets at @Alexluxenberg.

AVI MUCHNICK 97YUHS, 04C: THE TECH STARTUP FOUNDER

Back when he was a student at Yeshiva University High School for Boys/The Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy, Avi Muchnick, the founder of successful tech startups Worth1000 and Aviary, had no clear idea of which profession he might pursue.

I assumed Id end up getting some postgraduate degree, but I really didnt think too much about what kind, Muchnick recalled. But toward the end of high school, I taught myself a little web design and consulted for a few people who wanted a web presence for their businesses, and I enjoyed taking ownership like that. That was his first taste of entrepreneurship, planting the seeds for his future successes.

At Queens College, Muchnick served as editor of the school newspaper, The Queens College Quad, and encountered an issue of censorship with the schools administration over an article questioning the presidents honesty.

I was given pro bono legal advice by the Student Press Law Center Associa-tion and we successfully dealt with the issue, said Muchnick. I saw the power of the First Amendment and a good legal team firsthand, and law felt like a com-pelling and important career.

He also interned at a law office one summer during college and enjoyed the environment, an experience that cemented his decision to attend YUs Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, following one year of working as a graphic designer.

Keeping in mind that he needed a way to pay his rent during his law studies, Muchnick utilized his web design experience on his first day of law school. Work-ing out of Cardozos library, he launched Worth1000.com, an interactive website for users to enter art contests online.

Worth1000 was an instant success. It became clear to Muchnick in his first semester that building busi-nesses in that way was what he really wanted to be doing. But he recognized that a law degree would be handy when running a technology business.

By the time I graduated, the income being generated by the website was better than what I would have received as a first-year lawyer, so continuing to run the business full-time was a no-brainer, he said.

The startup became wildly popular in 2003 when the Iraq conflict grew more serious and Saddam Hussein went into hid-ing. Worth1000 ran a contest calling for users to digitally edit Hussein into hilarious hiding spots, like at the ballet or behind the counter at an ice cream shop.

It was really just in good fun, Muchnick recalled, but apparently a ser-geant in Iraq saw the pictures and had his unit print them out and hang them around Iraq as a form of propaganda. CNN ran a story on it crediting Worth1000 with the photos, and pretty soon every major media outlet in the world was reaching out to cover it as well. The sites user base really exploded from there.

Perhaps the ultimate sign of Worth1000s success was when entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon and a venerated titan in the tech indus-try, approached Muchnick in 2007 and expressed interest in investing in Much-nicks next project, now called Aviary.

I wanted to start the company that would democratize creativity and make creative tools accessible to the world, said Muchnick.

The artists on Worth1000 had to use specialized tools such as Adobe Pho-toshop to participate in art contests, and at the time, Photoshop was expensive and hard for beginners to learn. Muchnick realized that of the many people who might visit a contest page online, only a small percentage actually had the tools to enter it. He frequently received emails asking how to make the kinds of amaz-ing images available on the site. Muchnick thought that if he could provide an alternative design tool that was free and simple to use, many more people would be able to enter the contests and, more broadly, start a path toward becoming professional designers.

Bezos was sold on the idea and supplied the seed investment money to Muchnick, who used it to build Aviary and grow the company into a huge success.

Since Aviarys founding, its team has modified the business model in response to the rise of the smartphone. In addition to the companys own mobile appslike Photo Editor, installed by over 100 million peoplethey also power the creativity in other peoples apps by offering a simple photo editor plug-in for app developers to include. This strategy has worked wonderfully: One percent of all of the photos taken in the world have been edited using Muchnicks teams technology.

Muchnick served as CEO until December 2012, when he recruited former

Alumni at the forefront of the technology field are making an impact at various startup companies in the growing industry

ALUMNITODAY

Walmart executive Tobias Peggs to take over, at which point he assumed the position of chief product officer and executive chairman. Aviary currently has 75 million monthly active users, 10,000 partner applications and 10 billion photos edited across Aviarys partner apps.

In September, Aviary was acquired by Adobe Systems. Muchnick and his team now help to drive Adobes SDK (software development kit) strategy.

In 2010, Muchnick was named one of the Top 35 Innovators Under 35 by MIT Technology Review magazine. The road to his success looks like it was fairly seamless, but Muchnick recognizes his great fortune in having an investor approach him instead of the other way around. Financing your idea is generally the most difficult task facing aspiring entrepreneurs, he said.

Other challenges include recruiting talent and executing the idea. It used to be difficult to find talented people in the tech world in New York

City, so recruiting was probably my single biggest challenge with Aviary, Much-nick said. Fortunately, I was able to build an amazing team.

The tech ecosystem in New York City has only grown since Aviarys found-ing, Muchnick observed, and the field is rife with talent and ripe for entrepre-neurs to found their own startups without having to go to Silicon Valley.Although its a tough road for those aspiring to create a successful startup, the payoff of building one is quite rewarding. You can build literally whatever you want and surround yourself with smart, passionate people who want to help make your vision a reality, he said. Theres no better feeling than coming in to work and feeling like you are contributing to something impactful.

Muchnick and his wife, Erica, live in Woodmere, New York, and have four children. He calls his family his other full-time startupand the one of which he is most proud.

ALICE SILVERSTEIN 81YUHS, 84S: THE PRODUCT SUPPORT ENGINEER

From the time she was a student in elementary school, Alice Silverstein 81 YUHS, 84S, originally of Monsey, New York, already had an interest in the field of technology.

My father, who worked as an electrical and electronics engineer, was a huge influence in my life, said Silverstein. I also genuinely loved math and was always interested in how things were built and how they worked. Later, I was interested in possibly making aliyah [immigration to Israel] and the tech field in Israel was strong and, of course, has only gotten stronger since then.

After attending the Samuel H. Wang Yeshiva University High School for Girls, Silverstein was accepted to Stern College for Women through its early admission program.

At Stern, Silverstein enjoyed classes in economics, computer science, logic and English literature. After she graduated, she started her career as an electri-cal engineer at a telecommunications company, Timeplex, where she became interested in the software aspects of engineering.

The company where I was working wouldnt allow me to move into their software group, so I concluded that the company would take my interest more seriously if I obtained a masters in computer science, said Silverstein.

While working, Silverstein attended classes at Polytechnic University in the evenings to earn the degree. During that time, she also moved to the medical electronics industry. After graduating, she was hired to do software engineering for medical devices at Datascope Corp.

Silverstein went into software consulting for business applications, then on

to software development for financial applications and electronic trading, and landed in sales engineering for a software product called CEP, which is event processing that combines data from multiple sources to infer events or patterns that suggest more complicated circumstances. Currently, she is a senior product support engineer at Sybase for a similar CEP product.

A typical day for Silverstein involves troubleshooting for any problem relat-ing to the software that she supports, and fielding questions from both her col-leagues and the companys customers.

The people I support are highly intelligent and technically advanced, so its not like I need to spell any-thing out or speak in very simple terms, she said. I also work to establish good relationships with the customers as well as with the software developers whose product I am troubleshooting. My focus is on high quality at all times. And best of all, on a daily basis, I am learning about some aspect of technology.

When shes not analyzing and solving problematic issues, she is reporting issues she discovers on her own and comprising ways to

further refine and improve the quality of the product. As a female leader in a male-dominated field, Silverstein is often asked what

its like to be a woman in that environment. When I was in engineering school, I think the ratio of men to women was

nine-to-one, she recalled. I went from being in a college of all women to being in classes with almost all malesquite an interesting switch! When I got to my first job, I was the only female in the office. Personally, Im comfortable in that kind of environment; one has to be or she wont enjoy the work she loves doing.

Still, said Silverstein, it was one of the reasons she made the switch from electrical engineering to computer engineering. I saw that women are more respected there, she said.

Silverstein loves her work, both finding and fixing problems. Ive always been analytical, and this field is a perfect match for me because Im constantly analyzing, she said. Being challenged on a daily basis to understand the tech-nology behind any issue is the most rewarding part of the job and also allows me to communicate with a variety of people.

For Stern College students who are interested in pursuing this line of work, Silverstein offers a four-part formula.

First, ask questions. Theres no stupid question and it only shows your inter-est in learning more, she said. In this way, you become more proficient in what youre doing and show people that you care about what they have to teach you. Second, be willing to work hard and go the extra mile, which goes a longer way than that. Third, remember that you can learn something from almost anyone. And, fourth, keep in mind you wont understand everyone at once. It pays to keep an open mind and realize you have a lot to learn.

Silverstein lives in New York City. n

s CHECK OUT WHAT ALUMNI EVENTS ARE HAPPENING ON CAMPUS AND AROUND THE WORLD AT WWW.YU.EDU/ALUMNIEVENTS ALUMNITODAY 5

SUPPORT THE ANNUAL FUND AT WWW.YU.EDU/ONLINEGIVING 6 ALUMNITODAY

THE SKYS THE LIMIT (JULY 1, 2014)Stern College for Women hosted The Skys The Limit at One57 West 57th Street, where 120 alumnae, parents and friends enjoyed rare stunning views of Central Park and New York City from the newest ultra-luxury residence by Extell Development. Stern alumnae event co-chairs Pam Hirt 90S, Rena Kwestel 92S and Karen Raskas 91S led the fifth annual event to raise funds for Stern College. Guests had the opportunity to view fabulous dcor provided by designer Felicia Zwebner 92SB and experience the party planning visions of Suri Brody 83YUHS, Irit Kerstein 94S, and Benai Meisels 88S. Congratulations to Amy Gibber 96SB, Tami Radinsky 00S and Rebecca and Yehuda Shmidman 04YC for winning the raffle prizes donated by Melissa Lovy 08SB Jewelry, Lucite Ladies Judith Gottesman and Bobbi Joszefs Midnight Blu Linen, all of whom presented their crafts for sale at the event.

m Bonnie Schertz 82S, Malki Rosen 85S, Faiga Joseph, Lori Huberfeld 91S and Donna Stroh

m Batya Paul 94S, Andrea Reichel 90S, Mindy Davidoff 83YUHS, 87S, Alisa Levy 86S, Pam Hirt 90S and Nicole Fuchs Sausen 91S

m Rena Kwestel 92S, Felicia Zwebner 92SB and Meredith Robinson

YU LEGAL PROFESSIONALS PRESENT SILICON WADI: A GUIDE TO INTERNATIONAL LAWYERING IN ISRAEL (JULY 22, 2014)

m Jeremy Lustman 96YC (right), a partner at DLA Piper, where the event was held, and Benjamin Waltuch 88YUHS, 92SB, a partner at Pearl Cohen Zedek Latzer Baratz in Israel, discussed issues that arise in cross-border transactions involving an Israeli party

m Alumni fill conference room at DLA Piper to hear from legal professionals

m Michal Abittan 13S, Zelda Berger and Debra Abittan 87S

o Linda Laulicht, Abby Herschmann 96S, Stacie Rottenstreich, Estie Rottenstreich, Tovah Silber Strulowitz and Erica Hasten 13S

ALUMNI IN ACTION

s WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR IDEAS FOR PROGRAMMING IN YOUR REGION. CONTACT BARBARA BIRCH AT BIRCH@YU.EDU OR 212.960.0848. ALUMNITODAY 7

ALUMNI LECTURE SERIES WITH RABBI SHAY SCHACHTER (OCTOBER 1, 2014)Alumni and friends enjoyed breakfast at Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. in the MetLife Building and listened to a shiur on The Blessing Children Receive Before Yom Kippur given by Rabbi Shay Schachter 12R, 14A

When Israel was at war this summer, Yeshiva University alumni Uri Turk 07YC and Eve Stieglitz 07SB wanted to do something to help. After the kidnapping of the three Israeli teenagers in June, Turkwho served as a paratrooper in the Israel Defense Force (IDF) for two yearswas inspired to form the group Bring Back Our Boys NYC. Stieglitz joined his efforts and the two hosted a fundraiser in a lounge on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, raising over $15,000 for the IDF.

A few weeks later, when the terrible news came that the teens had been murdered, and with the escalating violence in Israel and negative world opinion, Stieglitz and Turk saw that they had more work to do. Along with a few friends and within the span of just six days, they organized a major pro-Israel rally and

solidarity protest, using Facebook and other social media to build momentum and publicize the event. The rally was attended by thousands of New York-area Jews.

YU showed me that I can organize students to rally for Israel, so I continued to take what I learned from there and used it to connect with alumni and friends who wanted to show their support for Israel, said Turk.

The rally was widely covered in the Jewish press, and Stieglitzwho spoke on stagewas interviewed by numerous media outlets, including CBS, ABC and Shalom TV. Just because were in the United States, doesnt mean we can just sit back, she said. Its a little sad that it takes something like this to unify the Jew-ish people, but it was beautiful to see so many people present in a space with no hatred or politics.

Later in the summer, Stieglitz was once again a public speaker at the New York Stands with Israel Rally at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza in midtown Manhattan, which drew thousands of Israel supportersamong them hundreds of YU students and alumni, as well as to President Richard M. Joel who also addressed the crowd. n

YU students and alumni joined thousands of New Yorkers to show their support for Israel at several rallies held this summer

Eve Stieglitz (left) 07SB addressed thousands of Israel supporters at a rally she organized in July

o Alumni host Jonathan Yoni Shenkman 07SB with Rabbi Schachter

k Aaron Gordon 10SB and Rabbi Schachter

Alumni Take Action For Israel

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2014 Waldorf Astoria

For information, please email hanukkahdinner@yu.edu

HONORING

Michael Gamson Judith Weiss Anita G. Zucker

Dear Members of the Yeshiva University Community,

As we begin a new academic year at Yeshiva University, we simultaneously embark on the next chapter in YUs remarkable history. These are exciting times for this unique and wonderful university and I want to share with you our progress to date in assuring YUs well-being, and our plans for the future. At its recent meeting, the University Board of Trustees endorsed a Roadmap for Sustainable Excellence that will guide us as we meet the challenges of 21st century higher education.

Our mission is not in question, but we must accomplish it within our means. We have confronted challenges that put pressure on the financial health of YU. In the simplest terms, over the past distressed economic times, we struggled to build the university we needed. We invested in our University, but as the economy turned we experienced operating deficits that cannot continue.

Change surrounds us. Young people learn differently than they did a generation ago. New views of the world, new technologies and modes of communication, the impact of social media, all change our students experience and how they learn. Twentieth century education does not embrace a 21st century world. To advance our mission requires that we use our resources wisely and focus our energies to retool how that mission is achieved. The challenge must be addressed in terms of the processes and content of education, the infrastructure needed and its costs, and the resources we have and must access. It is our mandate to ensure that Yeshiva University continues to thrive for generations to come. So, we embrace change and eagerly address all challenges as they arise. The Roadmap for Sustainable Excellence charts our course.

At the beginning of this calendar year, we retained Alvarez & Marsal (A&M), a leader in the field of restructuring and performance enhancement, as our financial advisor to guide the University in addressing its challenges and develop a long-term sustainable business plan. We welcomed Provost Dr. Selma Botman, Chief Financial Officer Jake Harman and Chief Institutional Advancement Officer Seth Moskowitz, to join a first-class management team. We have worked on addressing operating deficits at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine as well as those across the Universitys Manhattan campuses with a comprehensive set of restructuring initiatives, both for support services and academics.

By working with all our constituencies and focusing on the following three priorities, we have begun to stabilize the University.

1. Establishing a Sustainable Business Model We embarked on a plan to improve our cash position. We sold some of our non-core residential real estate at a time when the market was favorable. We refinanced all of our outstanding short-term debt with long term financing that provides greater flexibility. We improved cash management, budgeting and financial controls. We continue to focus on our investment operation and our endowment remains strong.

2. Advance Health and Medical Education We signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Montefiore Health System which enhances and strengthens

both organizations shared missions of research, teaching, patient care and community service and will ensure that Albert Einstein College of Medicine remains a leading medical school, and research enterprise, and we are now in the process of finalizing an agreement that builds on the existing contributions of Montefiore to Einstein in the areas of research and teaching. This new arrangement will allow Einstein to be fully operated by Montefiore and YU to continue as the degree granting entity with oversight of the educational and academic aspects of Einstein.

The agreement will significantly reduce YUs operating deficit, while matching the extraordinary opportunities and challenges in the current research and healthcare environment.

YU is launching a masters program in speech-language pathology and audiology with Einstein and Montefiore.

3. Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century We implemented over $20 million in savings across the corporate and academic divisions of the University for our current

fiscal year through voluntary staff and faculty retirements, operational efficiencies and departmental consolidation. We have identified significant additional operational savings, both corporate and academic, that must be implemented

creatively and responsibly in collaboration with faculty and administration. We convened three faculty task forces to explore and make recommendations on key areas of academic reimagining

and will partner with the faculty to facilitate more collaboration within and among our schools. We continue to expand our blended course offerings to offer students more textured learning, flexibility in their

schedules and the ability to learn at their own pace. We will be working to bring class sizes in line with other top-tier universities and increasing student access to tenured faculty. We will be significantly expanding our offerings of quality certificate and graduate programs to global audiences. We continue to explore revenue opportunities consistent with our vision and are developing new academic and professional

products to meet the emerging demands of a 21st century economy.

The implementation of the Roadmap will take place with all deliberate speed and will result in both constancy and change, as we advance toward long-term sustainable excellence. We will continue to share developments with you even as we continue to share the remarkable achievements of this extraordinary university community. A critical element of our future is the philanthropic partnership with alumni, investors and so many who believe that education must both ennoble and enable our students. As we look ahead to this next phase in Yeshiva Universitys history, I turn to youour alumni, our students, our faculty and staff, and our friendsand ask you for your partnership support. I ask that you embrace our future and join us on this journey. Yeshiva University matters and will continue to matter, but we can only advance together with you. I am confident that with your partnership, the future is bright.

As always, I welcome your feedback at president@yu.edu.

Sincerely,

Richard M. JoelPresidentBravmann Family University ProfessorYeshiva University

The Roadmap for Sustainable ExcellenceEditors note: The following letter has been adapted from an email that went out to the YU community on September 23

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Dr. Bruno Galantucci, associate professor of psychology, and Dr. Gareth Roberts, former research fellow in psychology, published an article in PLOS ONE, an international peer-reviewed journal that pub-lishes primary research in a number of scientific disciplines. Titled Do We Notice When Communication Goes Awry? An Investigation of Peoples Sensitivity to Coherence in Spontaneous Conversation, the article challenges current assumptions that the main purpose of human communication is the faithful transmission of information.

Rabbi Dr. Ephraim Kanarfogel, E. Billi Ivry University Professor of Jewish History, Literature and Law, was named to the Executive Committee of the American Academy for Jewish Research. Kanarfo-gel currently chairs the committee that awards the academys presti-gious Salo Baron Book Prize for the best first book in Jewish studies.

Building an Intellectual Powerhouse

Continuing to build an in-tellectually diverse and rich scholarly commu-nity on campus and bolstering its top-level academic offerings, Yeshiva University granted ten-ure to eight faculty members from across its undergraduate and graduate schools, in fields ranging from art history to mathematics to Judaic studies.

After an arduous review, these newly tenured professors join an outstanding faculty who testify to the quality of Yeshiva University, said Dr. Selma Bot-man, provost and vice president for academic affairs. Faculty such as these exceptional edu-cators, who bring distinction to our institution while dedicating themselves to student success and research excellence, are the hallmarks of a great university.

Having collaborated with other faculty on a range of course offerings, I have bene-fited from a rich interdisciplin-ary dialogue, said Dr. Marnin Young, associate professor of art history and one of four faculty awarded tenure at Stern College for Women. His book, Realism in the Age of Impressionism: Paint-

ing and the Politics of Time, 1878-1882, will be published by Yale University Press in early 2015.

His colleagues at Stern Col-lege who received tenure this year include Dr. Gaetano Bloise, professor of economics; Rabbi Richard Hidary, associate pro-fessor of Judaic studies; and Dr. Matthew Miller, associate pro-fessor of English.

Bloise holds a PhD in eco-nomics from the University of Cambridge and has taught at the Catholic University of Louvain, the University of Sassari and the Roma Tre University. His research and teaching interests are in general equilibrium, mon-etary theory, macroeconomics dynamics and asset pricing.

Rabbi Hidary received his PhD from New York University, where his studies culminated in a book titled Dispute for the Sake of Heaven: Legal Pluralism in the Talmud (Brown Judaic Stud-ies, 2010). He teaches courses in Bible, Talmud, Jewish history, Jewish ethics and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Miller holds a PhD in En-glish literature from the Uni-versity of Iowa and an MFA in

creative writing from the Iowa Writers Workshop. His re-search interests include 19th- and 20th-century American literature, poetry and electronic scholarship. In 2010, Miller published Collage of Myself: Walt Whitman and the Making of Leaves of Grass (University of Nebraska Press), a ground-breaking account of the creative story behind Americas most cel-ebrated collection of poems.

Yeshiva College bolstered its Department of Mathemat-ics and Computer Science by awarding tenure to Dr. Andreas Hamel and Dr. Antonella Marini, both professors of mathematics.

Students at top-tier uni-versities expect to be guided by faculty who are leaders in research, and this is especially important for our faculty in the mathematical sciences, said Dr. Thomas Otway, professor of mathematics and chair of YUs Department of Mathematics and Computer Science. Our pro-grams in mathematical sciences provide a foundation for the in-creasingly mathematical nature of research at the frontiers of physics, economics, computa-

tional biology, theoretical chem-istry and computer science. In scientific literature, the standard boundary conditions for gauge-invariant equations are called Marini conditions, in honor of Antonella Marinis research in this area, and Dr. Andreas Hamels work has rich applica-tions to mathematical finance, an area of particular interest to students at YU.

Marini holds a PhD in mathematics from the Univer-sity of Chicago, where she spe-cialized in gauge theories. Her research involves the areas of geometric analysis, partial dif-ferential equations and math-ematical physics.

Hamel received his PhD from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. His research combines classical math areas, such as lattice theory and func-tional analysis, with more re-cent ones, such as math finance, to create a new area called set optimization.

Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology awarded tenure to Dr. Jeffrey S. Gonzalez, as-sociate professor of psychol-ogy. Gonzalez, who received

his PhD from the University of Miami, focuses his research on identifying psychological and cognitive factors involved in treatment adherence in chronic illnesses. He is also a faculty member of the Diabetes Re-search and Training Center and has academic appointments in medicine and epidemiology and population health at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

At Bernard Revel Gradu-ate School of Jewish Studies, Dr. Daniel Tsadik, associate profes-sor of Jewish studies, received tenure. Tsadik earned his PhD at Yale University and is an ex-pert in the history of Jews in Islamic lands, Shiite Islam and Iranian Jewry.

In addition, Dr. Steven Fine was appointed the Dean Pinkhos Churgin Chair in Jewish History at Yeshiva College, Dr. Marina Holz was appointed the Doris and Ira Kukin Chair in Biology at Stern College and Dr. David Shatz was promoted to Univer-sity Professor of Philosophy, Ethics and Religious Thought. n

k Keep up with the latest faculty news at yu.edu/facultynews

Dr. Aaron Segal, assistant pro-fessor of philosophy at Yeshiva College, was awarded a highly competitive $34,500 grant from the Immortality Project at the University of California, River-side, funded by the John Tem-pleton Foundation. The project seeks to foster discussions on the science, philosophy and the-ology of immortality. The grant will support Segal as he seeks to explore these topics in a paper titled, Why Live Forever?, to be presented at a capstone con-ference at UC Riverside next June.

Dr. Eric Goldman, adjunct professor of cinema, delivered the on-screen introductions for The Projected Image: The Jewish Experience on Film, a month-long showcase of more than 20 movies that focused on Jewish history and heritage presented by Turner Classic Movies in September. Goldman assisted in curating the event, which encom-passed themes ranging from Israeli classics to coming-of-age films and Holocaust-related movies.

Dr. Margaret Samu, adjunct instructor at Stern College for Women, published a volume she coedited with Rosalind P. Blakesley of the University of Cambridge. Titled From Realism to the Silver Age: New Studies in Russian Artistic Culture, the book honors a pioneer in the field of Russian art, Elizabeth Kridl Valkenier from Columbia University.

Dr. Josefa Steinhauer, assis-tant professor of biology, was recently awarded an Academic Research Enhancement Award R-15 from the National Insti-tutes of Health to continue her research on male fertility in fruit flies. Steinhauers lab studies the fruit fly Drosophila melanogas-ter, which scientists use to gain insight into fundamental ge-netic, biological and molecular mechanisms at play during the development of an organism.

FOCUS | ON FACULTY

Dr. Marnin YoungDr. Daniel TsadikRabbi Richard Hidar